Sound Tigers Edge Admirals

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Goals by leading scorers Trevor Smith and Carter Ashton were not enough as the Norfolk Admirals (7-4-0-1) fell to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (6-4-1-0), 3-2, on Saturday night at Webster Bank Arena. The Admirals fell to 3-3-0-0 on their seven-game road trip, which concludes tomorrow afternoon with a 4:05 p.m. matchup against the Providence Bruins.

Ashton’s team-leading tenth goal of the season drew the Admirals to within a goal of Bridgeport late in regulation. Smith netted his sixth of the campaign in the first period. Norfolk netminder Jaroslav Janus fell to 4-1-1 on the season after stopping 29 of 32 shots. The Sound Tigers out-shot the Admirals, 32-29.

Bridgeport took a 1-0 lead 10:29 into the game. David Ullstrom and Matt Donovan entered the Norfolk zone two-on-one. Ullstrom sent a feed from the right circle to Donovan in the left circle, and Donovan sent a shot that glanced off the crossbar on its way into the net over Janus’ right shoulder.

Norfolk tied the game at 1-1 with 1:12 remaining in the first period. Pierre-Cedric Labrie entered the attacking zone along the left wing and dropped a pass to Alexandre Picard. Picard sent a quick shot off the leg pads of Bridgeport goaltender Anders Nilsson. The rebound came out into the low slot, where Smith collected it, curled around Nilsson’s left leg and slid a shot into the net.

The Sound Tigers re-claimed the lead with a Trevor Frischmon goal at 14:52 of the second period. While skating four-on-four, Frischmon took a long Aaron Ness pass and skated into the Admirals zone along the right wing. He skated to the outside of a defender in the right circle before cutting toward the net and sending a shot over Janus’ right shoulder for a 2-1 Bridgeport lead.

The home team doubled its lead on the power play 7:50 into the final frame. Ullstrom took the puck into the attacking zone in the right circle before cutting sharply towards the slot. He sent a low shot from between the hashmarks past Janus for a 3-1 Sound Tigers lead.

Norfolk closed its deficit to one goal with 2:51 remaining in regulation. Ashton found the rebound of a Cory Conacher shot on top of the crease to Nilsson’s left and had multiple shots before getting one past the Bridgeport netminder.

However, the Admirals were unable to find the equalizer.

Jaroslav Janus (4-1-1) turned aside 29 of 32 shots for his first regulation loss of the season. Anders Nilsson (4-1-0) stopped 27 of 29 shots for the win.

Norfolk was 0-5 on the power play. Bridgeport was 1-5.

The Admirals will conclude their seven-game road trip tomorrow afternoon with a 4:05 p.m. matchup against the Providence Bruins. Due to Washington Redskins football, the broadcast will only be available online through 1021TheGame.com and ahllive.com.

The Admirals return to Scope on Wednesday, November 9, to take on their East Division rivals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. in the first Admirals Value Night of the 2011-12 season.

Family Fun Packs include four discounted Red Level Tickets for just $48 plus four free hot dogs, four free popcorns and four free sodas. Fans get all of that for just $48 – that’s a savings of $37!

Student Rush Nights provide $8 White Level Tickets (normally $12) for students with a valid current high school or college ID. In addition, when you buy a Student Rush Night Ticket, you get a buy-one, get-one free offer for the next Student Rush Night.

Family Fun Packs are available at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Student Rush Night Tickets are available ONLY at the Scope Box Office after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the game.

The November 9 game is also Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia Night. For every non-perishable food item you donate at the game, you will receive a raffle ticket. We will hold a raffle drawing at the game and you could win autographed Admirals memorabilia! Plus, fundraising tickets are available for a limited time at norfolkadmirals.com/groups.

Individual tickets for all regular season games start at just $12. Tickets are available now at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at ticketmaster.com.

Don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2011-12 season tickets today. Season tickets start at just $350 while 10-Packs are available for as little as $110. Stop by the Admirals’ Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!

NOTES … Norfolk has lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time this season … The Norfolk loss combined with a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton win moves the Penguins past the Admirals for first place in the AHL’s East Division by one point. The Admirals and Penguins square off for the first time this season on Wednesday night at Scope … Ten of the last 14 games between Norfolk and Bridgeport have been one-goal games. In that span, there has been only one game where one of the teams scored more than three goals … Did not play: Richard Petiot, Mark Barberio, Ondrej Palat, Michel Ouellet, Eric Neilson.